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Ok, so I’ve been attempting to create a vegan, oil-free, gluten-free banana bread for years with little success.

UNTIL NOW!

Everything I have come up with in the past was fine, edible of course, but wasn’t reminiscent of true banana bread. You know, the super moist, dense, fattening-tasting kind (though I will say I could always taste egg in traditional banana bread and it really grossed me out). This recipe has a special ingredient to give it those qualities it was missing before. Wait for it……

Almond flour!

I know quite a few people are using almond flour these days (think Paleo. Ugh. Pulease). Most people using it are avoiding grains (again, pulease), and using way too much of the stuff, making the baked goods super fattening. I have created this quick-bread with a combination of flours which helps cut down the fat but still gives it that yummy, dense and moist texture of traditional banana bread. Of course, the other trick to amazing banana bread is overripe bananas. I’ve tested this recipe 5 times and it’s come out great every time using 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups of banana, which is the equivalent of about 3-4 bananas.

One of the best things about this recipe, other than the texture and flavor, is how quick and easy it is to make. I have the batter ready to go before the oven is even preheated! You can dump all the ingredients in one bowl and mix!

Again, this banana bread is vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free, using only 1/3 cup maple syrup to sweeten. It’s not nut-free of course, so if you must avoid almonds I’m so sorry!! I haven’t spent time experimenting with a substitute but I could if there is interest out there. Anyway, I hope you try this and love it as much as we do. Add 1/3 cup chocolate chips for a special treat!

I threw these together one morning when I knew my green smoothie wasn’t going to be enough. I just needed something to chew and help me feel satiated. These little bundles did the trick. If you’re looking for light, airy and fluffy, run away. They are dense, fiber-filled clusters of lemony, oaty goodness. I love oats, and I adore lemon, especially during warm months, so the combo seemed like a good fit. Just zesting lemons instantly elevates my mood so I especially love dishes that call for lemon. This recipe is super easy and quick to make, and very healthy consisting of healthy, whole foods. These are every bit as good without coconut so if you don’t care for it or can’t have it, feel free to omit. Make sure your bananas are very ripe; if they aren’t you may need to add more than the called-for 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.

In honor of National Oatmeal Day on 10/29/16 (tell me about it; they have a day for everything), I wanted to share this recipe for Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal. I love it! The texture sort of reminds me of firm bread pudding. Better yet, it has no dairy, eggs, oil, gluten and is sweetened only with fruit! It’s really easy to make and great to serve for a brunch, your own breakfast or I often eat it as a snack. I like to eat it cold with a little soy milk poured on top, but it’s also really good warm. It’s mildly sweet so a little maple syrup drizzle wouldn’t be the worst idea. 🙂 One quarter of the pan is officially a serving but when eating it as a snack I generally slice up an eighth of the pan.

This was one of those recipes in which I had a craving for flavor (in this case, lemon) and a new dish was born. Yummy! I’ve been experimenting more and more with aquafaba, the juice from canned chickpeas, and really liking the results.

It looks like there are a lot of ingredients here but a lot of them are spices. It really isn’t any more labor intensive than any other loaf, muffin or cookie recipe I’ve got. The key is to put the blueberries in the bottom of the loaf pan so that when it cools and you flip it over, you have a yummy, dark purple blueberry topping. Cool looking and even better tasting.

These babies were created when I just threw a bunch of pancake-related items in my Vitamix. I didn’t feel like measuring out the flour and I figured using rolled oats would work, blended along with everything else. And work it did! Yummy. Easy to make, healthy and delicious.

Feel free to add chocolate chips, blueberries or chopped/sliced bananas to the batter once it’s poured onto the griddle.

I got a Waring-Pro double waffle maker a few years ago and have only used it twice. I just couldn’t find a waffle recipe to my liking. The first one was a disaster and the second just okay. For my third attempt I scoured the internet and found several vegan recipes but they either contained oil, had bad reviews or weren’t gluten-free. For the record, I don’t believe wheat/gluten is the evil food many people make it out to be but I seem to have a sensitivity so I go without, which is really no big deal. When done right, it really does force one to make healthier choices. Which is why most people feel better and lose weight after cutting it out of their diet; not necessarily because gluten was making them heavy or feel badly but because by cutting it out they eliminated processed foods and crap. But I digress….we are supposed to be talking about tasty waffles here, not gluten.

As I was saying, I couldn’t find a good waffle recipe so I took a chance and made one up, and man was I happy I did! These waffles came out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I did have to spray the waffle iron with cooking spray – you just can’t get away from that; trust me, I know this from experience. So have at it! I hope these work out as well for you as they did for me.

I’ve said it many times – I. Love. Pumpkin. All things pumpkin, whether it be savory or sweet. I especially love the spices that are associated with pumpkin flavor – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice, etc. These delicious bars have them all. The bars are substantial and very moist (hence the name Gooey Pumpkin Bars). I only used rolled oats so no need for flour here. The only sugar in the batter is 1/3 cup and I used Sucanat which is minimally processed. The chocolate chips add sugar, of course, and are optional (but, um, why would you leave them out?). Seriously, you may opt to leave them out if you plan on eating these for breakfast, or leave them in for more of a dessert item. For gluten-free bars be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Every day for breakfast I have a smoothie filled with all sorts of nutritional goodness from greens, berries, banana, homemade almond milk and flax seeds. Some days though, I want something different and I will make oatmeal topped with banana, grated apple, cinnamon, a few walnuts, some almond milk and a touch of maple syrup. Kinda hard to eat a bowl of oatmeal on the run or if you’re in a hurry though, and impossible to eat out of your hand (not that I’ve tried). So, I set out to make a super healthy muffin that would be like a bowl of oatmeal disguised as a muffin. These muffins have the same ingredients as my hearty bowl of oatmeal with delicious toppings. They are dense, hearty and satisfying and best of all – easy to make!

Notes:

* You need a 6-cup muffin tin for this recipe as it makes larger muffins than the 12-muffin pans. You can purchase here:Jumbo Muffin Tin. You could use a regular 12-muffin tin and make smaller muffins – just cook them for less time, 30-35 minutes.

* If your bananas are super ripe you can omit the maple syrup as the ripe bananas will add just enough sweetness.

There is no shortage of granola recipes on-line, though I’d never heard of a chocolate variety so when it popped into my head as I was working out, I jumped on it. Many of my recipes come to me during exercise – weird. Anyhow, I got the idea to use cacao nibs and cocoa powder to make the granola chocolatey. Sure, I could use chocolate chips but this is granola, it’s supposed to be healthy!

For those not familiar with cacao nibs, they are basically raw chocolate, pieces of cacao beans that have been roasted, hulled and prepped to the point where all that there is left to do is process them into bars. Like dark chocolate, they are somewhat bitter and they are very pure with no added sugar. I like them in the granola however because there are plenty of other sweet elements. The bitter, nutty flavor of the nibs with the cherries, cranberries and maple syrup and/or date paste is delicious. Best part? Your milk in the bowl ends up like chocolate milk! Who doesn’t love that?

Cacao beans, and thus cacao nibs, are one of the best dietary sources of magnesium — a mineral needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in our bodies — with 272 milligrams per 100 grams. Cacao nibs are very high in antioxidants, and have about 9 grams of fiber per 1 ounce!

Since they will melt like any other type of chocolate, you need to wait until the granola is cooled before adding the cacao nibs.